MANCHESTER — A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter said Tuesday a new Republican radio ad accusing her of breaking a promise on the Affordable Care Act is "false" and should not be aired.

"Washington Republicans should take down their misleading attack ads and stop frightening Granite Staters who hold individual policies from Anthem, because they can indeed renew their policies and keep their current doctors and hospitals," said Shea-Porter spokesman Ben Wakana.

The 60-second ad by the National Republican Congressional Committee, which began airing on Tuesday, depicts a woman whose husband has lost his insurance policy because Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the lone New Hampshire ACA network provider, includes only a portion of the state's hospitals. The ads says Shea-Porter, like President Barack Obama, broke a promise that under the ACA, those who like their existing health insurance plans could keep them. (See earlier story below.)

The Shea-Porter spokesman said she "worked this out" with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield last month: "New Hampshire residents who hold individual policies from Anthem have until Dec. 16 to renew their current policies and keep their hospitals and doctors in 2014.

"In fact, under the Affordable Care Act, families in a situation like the one depicted in this ad no longer face lifetime limits on coverage, they won't suffer from bankruptcy due to overwhelming medical bills, and they can't be kicked off their insurance or kept from getting insurance because of illness," Wakana said.

"Washington Republicans should stop trying to take people's insurance away and start working to improve the Affordable Care Act."

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Marc Brumer said, "This new attack is just more proof that Republicans, including (1st District U.S. House seat candidates) Frank Guinta and Dan Innis are on a vicious mission to repeal the Affordable Care Act and go back to a broken system that was leading hardworking Granite Staters into bankruptcy."

A spokesman for the Innis campaign responded, "Faced with the consequences of their bad law, Congresswoman Shea-Porter and the DCCC have retreated to same old campaign style talking points that got us into this mess in the first place. That's why Dan has proposed the Innis Agenda for Health Care, a bold set of reforms that will move us beyond the ObamaCare squabbles, and actually do something to make health care more affordable and accessible."

(Our earlier story follows.)

MANCHESTER — The National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday will begin airing a radio ad accusing Democratic U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter of breaking a promise on the Affordable Care Act.

In the 60-second NRCC ad, a woman says her sick husband's health insurance plan no longer exists "because of Obamacare" and his new policy "doesn't cover the hospital where my husband is being treated."

.A narrator says that more than one-third of New Hampshire's hospitals "aren't covered through Obamacare" and, "That's not what the President — and Carol Shea-Porter — promised."

The NRCC says that Shea-Porter, like President Barack Obama, promised that under the ACA, those who liked their current health insurance plans and doctors could keep them...Republican sources say the ad will air on radio stations in Manchester and Portland, Maine, which reaches the eastern part of the state, for 10 days.

The NRCC ad buy is $21,000 and is part of a larger $50,000 buy also targeted at two other Democratic incumbent House members, Scott Peters of California and Nick Rahall in West Virginia, according to GOP sources...Shea-Porter has been a supporter of the Affordable Care Act but in November supported Republican-sponsored legislation that would allow Americans to keep their individual health policies and purchase new ones that do not comply with the requirements of the ACA for an additional year...Republicans Dan Innis and former Rep. Frank Guinta have announced candidacies to try to take on Shea-Porter in the 1st District U.S. House 2014 mid-term election.

The new ad is the second by the NRCC focused on Shea-Porter and the ACA. The first was in October and also focused on 2nd District Democratic U.S. Rep. Ann Kuster...jdistaso@unionleader.com..